Army Flying Museum letting visitors go behind the scenes

The Army Flying Museum in Middle Wallop staged its first Access the Archive event in May, which was described by one visitor as “excellent and informative”. Now more people are being given the chance to ‘backstage’ and find out more about the museum’s collection relating to the Glider pilot operations of North Africa and Sicily.

The event will focus on the role of the Glider pilots who took part in Operations Turkey Buzzard, Ladbroke and Fustian, with everything from first-hand accounts and photos to stories of tragedy, success and, of course, luck.

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This latest event will give visitors the opportunity to hear the stories behind the artefacts, photographs and documents on display and previously unseen. 

Going behind the scenes with the curatorial team, visitors will also be given a rare chance to visit the archive storage room to see how the vast collection of records are preserved and gain a unique insight into how the museum’s stories are researched and presented.

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A visitor from the previous event said: “Having visited the Army Flying Museum many times in recent years, this was a fantastic opportunity to look behind the scenes. The Museum has such an impressive collection on display and delving into the archives revealed just how much work goes into researching and compiling the stories we see today throughout the hangars.”

The next Access the Archive event will take place on Thursday, September 28 from 6-8pm and then on Sunday, October 1 from 1.30-3.30pm.

For more information and to book, visit armyflying.com/what-s-on.

The museum offers a range of services from the Archive from research visits to transcription services. More information can be found at armyflying.com/the-collections/the-archive/archive-services.